A SCRATCH TEAM AT ROME. 169 



consists of four horses obtained as best you can, 

 and often at a short notice, from your friends, or a 

 job-master, or some other source ; in fact, your 

 coach will be, like many other popular institutions, 

 supported entirely by voluntary contributions one 

 contribution of a horse from one friend, one, perhaps, 

 of your own, one from the job-master, and the other 

 from some other benefactor ; in fact, you will have 

 a kind of omnium-gat kerum affair. It is not often, 

 as a rule, that horses give much trouble, and though 

 there is often a good deal of " Wo, my man ! " " Wo, 

 old fellow!" " Steady, my dear!" "Poor little 

 woman ! " with a deal of patting on the neck by the 

 grooms or horsekeepers, who are doing all they 

 can to make your horses fancy that they ought to 

 do something wrong, and something that they never 

 dreamt of, a good punch in the ribs, and a " come up, 

 you brute," or some such endearing epithet, is better 

 than all the tender, coaxing words that are being 

 so freely lavished upon them. I don't mean that 

 they ought to be rough with the horses, but it's no 

 use making them believe that something's up, or that 

 they must of necessity be going to behave ill. 



Having got your team put to your coach, you, 

 perhaps, feel proud of your performance thus far 



